It is known to provide testing devices for local area network components. For example, hubs, routers, repeaters and other local area network components are preferably tested for quality assurance purposes, prior to the components being shipped. Other devices such as media modules, which may be used with large hubs having a plurality of slots, are also preferably tested. It is especially important to test the ports such as by sending packets to the ports of the device.
A device for generating packets has been used in the past for testing local area network devices. Such a packet generator is connected to a port of a local area network device and the packet generator generates one or more packets. Although such a packet generator provides a useful test function, the connection to a single port does not provide a realistic test. The test does not determine if the packets reach the destination port properly and such a packet generator connectable to a single port does not provide situations which are closely similar to the situations encountered during actual use.